Stamping with Watercolor Crayons

Last week's post described a class that I took online from DailyCraftTV.com. I learned about a lot of fun techniques, one of which I would like to share with you today. In addition, I will be using the "Dream Pop" Paper Packet from Close To My Heart to create my card, so you will have the added benefit of more "Dream Pop" artwork inspiration! Yea! Today I will be showing you how to use watercolor crayons to stamp.

This technique is the same as stamping with markers, but with a few added benefits. I had the unbelievable luck of coming across a set of watercolor crayons for sale just days after I viewed this technique online - how fortuitous! Here's how you can use them with your stamps:

Start by coloring with the crayons directly onto your stamp - it's ok if it doesn't look smooth or completely even:

Continue coloring the stamp with as many different colors as you'd like. I used pink, orange and yellow:

Next, use a fine-mist sprayer, and spritz the stamp a couple of times from about a foot away:

Then, stamp your image:

Remember, we're looking for a watercolor effect here, not like the solid image you would get from inking it with your ink pad. Results will vary depending on how wet (or not) the stamp gets:

Two reasons why using the watercolor crayons is, in my opinion, better for this effect than using markers. One is that you actually get a watercolor look - you have, after all, used water in order to achieve it. And two, if you don't quite like the stamped result, you can go back with a waterbrush and smooth out the "glops" or do some more blending after the fact. You would just have a wet mess if you tried that on an image you stamped with markers.

I ended up cutting this image out and using it on this card along with papers from the "Dream Pop" paper pack:

The colors of this paper pack are just so fun and vibrant - you can't help but smile! Using watercolor crayons is a great way to get both a watercolor stamped effect and more than one color into your image. Have fun experimenting with this technique - I would love to see your cool creations!